Musical instrument



Jan. 10, 1950 A. L. NOTARA 2,4

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Filed Sept. 50, 1947 .ILQ/

/%/,wswx/ A. We THE/7 Patented Jan. 10, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Andrew Love Notara, Elmwood Park, Ill.

Application September 30, 1947, Serial No. 777,027 8 Claims. (01. s4 .1.1.s)

The present invention relates to musical instruments and in particular to an improved musical instrument to simulate the sounds produced by slapping or plucking a bass violin as well as other sounds.

In playing a conventional bass violin, the player frequently slaps the strings thereof to produce a thumping sound or plucks the strings to produce a plucking sound. When these are done over long periods of time or the operator has not been playing frequently, soreness and blisters may be produced in the fingers and hands of the operator by reason of the repeated engagements between the hands and the strings. Moreover, a bass violin is a relatively expensive, bulky, and fragile instrument that requires special care in handling and transportation as well as substantial first cost to the owner.

In accordance with the present invention, the sound of slapping or plucking a bass violin is simulated by means of an improved instrument of relatively short length and small size. The instrument includes a band of rubber or elastic which is held taut at one end thereof by a suitable tension adjusting thumb screw and at the opposite end bears on a piezoelectric crystal, such as Rochelle salt. Suitable amplifiers are provided to convert the minute voltage variations produced by the crystal under the forces exerted by the string and to convert the same to audible sound waves. A retractable finger board is fitted underneath the band and is constructed of steel or similar material capable of ringing when struck. When the finger board is retracted, the sounds of slapping the strings of a bass violin may be produced by merely touching the band of rubber or elastic in the instrument at points corresponding to the tones desired. When the finger board is not retracted the sound of plucking the strings of a bass violin may be simulated by raising the finger board and causing the band to strike that board as it is depressed by the fingers.

\ In addition to the sounds of slapping or plucking the strings of a bass violin, the structure of the present invention provides other sounds as well. For example, by turning the amplifier on and off in sequence, varying thevolume of the reproduced signals, and altering the tone control of the amplifier, other sounds not possible to produce on the bass violin may be achieved. In one form of the present invention the instrument is provided with a head containing a suitable on and off control switch for the amplifier, together with volume and tone controls therefor,

to permit maximum convenience in making such sounds by manipulation of these elements.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved musical instrument capable of simulating the sounds produced upon plucking or slapping the strings of a bass violin.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved musical instrument capable of simulating the sounds produced by a bass violin but in which only light finger movements are required, thereby providing maximum ease of operation and avoidingany tendency towards injuring the fingers of the operator even though played for long periods of time by an inexperienced operator.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved musical instrument capable of producing new sound effects.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an-improved musical instrument capable of simulating a bass violin and producing new sound effects and which embodies features of construction, combination and arrangement whereby small size, rugged construction, and low cost-are achieved to the end that a unit of maximum utility is achieved.

' The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention, itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1 and showing the finger board in the depressed or retracted position;

- Figure 2a is a fragmentary enlarged view of a portion of Figure 2 showing the means of resiliently mounting the finger board;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation view of the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1 but showing the finger board in the engaged position and, in addition, a control housing mounted on the end thereof;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the piezoelectric pickup head used with the present invention;

' Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the pickup head and showing parts in cross section; and

Figure 6 is a circuit diagram of the first stage of an amplifier of a type that may be used with the present invention and showing a typical connection of the controls therefor.

Referring now to the top plan and side elevational view of Figures 1 and 2, the illustrative embodiment of the present invention includes a back board If! extending the length of the unit and upon which the various component elements are mounted. A housing I2 is disposed at one end of this board and encases the piezoelectric crystal pickup P, together with the end of band l4. At the opposite end of board It), an upstanding anchor is mounted. Thumb screw I8 extends through anchor l6 and may be rotated to tension the band [4 to adjust the tuning of the instrument.

The note board 19 comprises the rear portion of the back board ID in the region where the fingers engage the band I4 and is marked with suitable signs A, B, C, etc. indicating the notes produced when the fingers engage the band at the various points. The forwardhalf of the backboard Ill in this region is covered by the finger board 20 which is pivotally mounted at one end of the bar by the pivotal mounting indicated generally at 22 and at the other end is supported through the operating knob 24 and the associated shaft 26.

The band 14 is of the order of one-half inch wide and one-sixteenth inch thick. The band is made of extensible material, such as rubber or elastic fabric. When this band is deflected from its taut condition and then released, sound producing vibrations result.

It will, of course, be apparent to those skilled in the art that theband 14 may be of any material possessing the requisite qualities of extensibility, mass and flexibility.

The band [4 is anchored within the housin I 2 by the clamp 28 shown in top view in Figure 1 where the upper surface of enclosure I2 is broken away for this purpose. This clamp may, for example, include .an upper clamp portion having openings for screws and a lower clamp portion having aligned openings to receive these screws and which is attached by suitable means to the base board Ill. The end of the band 14 is inserted between these members and the screws tightened to hold the band in fixed position.

At its opposite end the band 14 is held in a taut condition by the thumb screw 18 which passes through anchor I6 and on its end |8a is provided with a slot to receive the band. This thumb screw is of conventional type used on violins and other instruments, although other means may be used for this purpose. Immediately adjacentthe thumb screw l8, the'band l4 rides over the support 30 which may be seen in side elevation in Figures 2 and 3. This support is suitably attached to the base board [0, as by screws, and holds the band at a level slightly abovethe uppermost level of the finger board 20.

The construction of the finger board 20 is best seen in the side elevation view of Figure 2 and the enlarged fragmentary side elevation view of Figure 3. As will be evident from these views, the finger board is held to the base board In by the pivotal connection indicated at 2.2. This connection is shown in detail in Figure 2a and comprises a pair of flexible rubber sleeves 22a and 22b aligned with a suitable opening in the finger board 20. A screw 220 has its head portion seating on the upper sleeve 22b and passes through both sleeves and board v20 to be received 4 therein. The operating knob 24 and its associated shaft 26 are attached to the bar 20 for limited pivotal movements by a pair of fiexible rubber sleeves and a screw in a manner similar to that previously described for the pivotal connection 22.

The foregoing pivotal connections for bar 20 permit movement thereof from the flat retracted position shown in Figure 2 to the raised operatingposition shown in Figure 3. Moreover, these connections constitute resilient elements supporting the bar to permit vibratory ringing movements thereof to create sounds when the bar is struckby the band [4 under pressure from the fingers of the player.

The construction of the piezoelectric crystal pickup P used in the present invention is best seen in Figures 4 and 5 which are top plan and side elevational views of this pickup respectively. The pickup housing 32 is of construction similar to the lhousings used on conventional phonograph-pickups but is provided with a slot 34 to exposethe crystal element 36 and to receive the band 1 4. In fact, one simple method of manufacturing this portion of the present invention is .to out slot 34 in a conventional crystal phonograph pickup.

The crystal. 36 may be supported in the housing 32 by a resilient mounting, such as is shown in Figure 5 where the housing 32 is broken away to expose this mounting. As indicated in the figure, the mountingmay comprise a pair of flexible rubber blocks 38 and ,40 attached to the upper and lower-portions of the housing 32 and which engage the crystal 36 on its opposite ends. A pair of plates 42 and 44 may be interposed between each block 38 and 40 and the corresponding surface of crystal 36 to pick up the voltage variations associated with the mechanical movements imparted to the crystal 35 by the band M. This mounting permits the crystal 38 to respond to the forces of the band 14 without danger of breakage.

The crystal 36 may be any one of a number ef crystals displaying the piezoelectric effect, namely generation of an electromotive force in accordance with the mechanical forces exerted thereon. Rochelle salt is a common crystal that displays this effect and which may be used in apparatus such as that of the present invention.

As is shown in Figures 4 and 5 the band l4 rests on the crystal 36 to cause the vibratory movements of the band to be imparted directly to the crystal and causing voltages varying in accord with these movements to appear across plates 42 44. These plates are connected to a suitable amplifierand reproducer which converts them to corresponding sound waves.

An amplifier typical of those which may be used in connection with the instrument of the present invention is shown diagrammatically in Figure 6. As indicated, the plates 42 and 44 of the crystal 36 are connected across potentiometer 46. The moving terminal of this potentiometer is connected to the control electrode of vacuum tube 48. The cathode-anode space path of this tube is connected to battery 50 through plate resistance 52 and the cathode resistance 54, the latter being by-passed by capacitor 56 to provide unidirectional cathode-control electrode bias voltage. Variations in the voltage across plates 42 and 44 associated with mechanical vibrations of crystal 36 cause similar variations in the control electrode voltage of tube 48 and corresponding variations .in the cathode-anode space current thereof to produce voltage variations across the plate enemies resistance 52; These voltages arefed to sound reproducer 58 through the capacitor 60.

, The sound reproducer 58 includes elements operable to generate sound waves in accord with the voltage -waves impressed thereon. Such elements may include, for example, a movably mounted solenoid disposed in a magnetic field and connected to a diaphragm to produce sound waves in accord with the mechanical movements of the solenoid. Moreover, the reproducer 58 may include further stages of amplification to bring the voltage output across resistance 52 to the level necessary to actuate the sound producing elements.

One of the features of the present invention resides in equipping the amplifier and reproducer units with control elements capable of altering the sound output thereof compared with the mechanical vibrations of the band 14. To this, end a housing 62, Figure 3, may be mounted on the end of back board In and encloses. a pair of resistances and a switch. The switch is connected directly across the plates 42 and 44 so that when the knob therefor, 64a, Figure, 3, is depressed, these plates are short circuited and the sound issuing from the reproducer 58 is abruptly cut off. The potentiometer 46 is mounted in. the upper portion of housing 62 with the control knob 46a extending above that housing. This knob may readily be reached by the left hand of the operator (which is not used to strike the band M) to vary the intensity of the sound issuing from reproducer 58, thereby causing desired sound efiects.

The capacitor 68 and the variable resistance 66 are connected in series across the input to reproducer 58 to by-pass a controllable amount of the high frequency voltage components appearing across resistance 52, thereby accenting thev low frequency components of the issued sounds and depressing the high frequency components thereof to alter the relative intensities of high frequency and low frequency sounds produced. Resistance 6B is mounted in the top portion of housing 62 with the knob 66a extending therefrom to permit ready control by the player of the instrument to alter the quality or tone of the sound issuing from the reproducer 58.

A guide bar and finger rest 10 extends along the length of the back board It! to guide and support the fingers of the operator. This bar is U-shaped and is attached to the back board 10 by screws 10a, Figure 2, which pass through appropriate holes in the bar and are received in the back board It to hold the bar in place.

To play the instrument of the present invention the operator merely strikes the band 14 with fingers of one hand and in the sequence of the desired tones. To simulate the slap action of a bass violin, for example, the finger bar 20 is permitted to. drop to the retracted position of Figure 2 and the band 14 is merely touched with a very light finger motion. To simulate plucking of the bass violin, the finger board 20 is raised by appropriate pressure on knob 24 and the band pressed against the finger board 20 during the playing, thus causing the ringing sound similar to that associated with plucking the string of a bass viloin.

To produce other sounds, the controls 46a, 66a, and 64a on housing 62 as Well as the knob 24, are manipulated with the one hand while the other hand operates the band [4 to produce vibrations of the band I4. A wide variety of sounds may be obtainedbymanipulating these controls in van ous ways.

While I have'shown and described a particular embodiment of the present invention, it will of course be'understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto since many modifications both in the elements employed and their cooperative structure may be made without departing from the spiritrand scope thereof. 1, of course, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

,What I claim as new and desire to secure as Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A musical instrument comprising in combination -a lengthy extensible band, mechanism to hold said band in a taut condition for vibratory sound producing movements, a piezoelectric crystal directly contacting and supporting said band near one end to receive said movements and produce an electromotive force varying in accordance-therewith, and a reproducer to produce sound waves varying in accordance with said electromotive force.

2. A musical instrument comprising in combination, a lengthy extensible band, mechanism to hold said band in taut condition for vibratory sound producing movements, a piezoelectric crystal to form a direct contact support for said band at one end, a finger board, and elements adjustably supporting said board for controlling sounds, said elements in one adjustment supporting said board to be struck by said band and in another position supporting said board in a retracted position spaced from said band, and a reproducer to convert the electromotive forces appearing across said crystal to corresponding sound waves. 3. A musical instrument comprising in combination, a base member, a lengthy extensible band, mechanism to hold said band in a taut condition over said member for vibratory sound producing movements, a piezoelectric crystal disposed to support said band at one end, a finger board, elements resiliently to support one end of said board from said member, elements resiliently to support the other end of said board from said member, said last elements being shiftable to retract said board to a position away from said band and toward the base member or to move said board away from the base member to a position adjacent to said band, and a reproducer to convert the electromotive forces appearing across said crystal to corresponding sound Waves.

4. A musical instrument comprising in combination, a base member, a piezoelectric crystal resiliently supported at one end of said member, a lengthy extensible band, mechanism to support said band from said member in a position to rest on said crystal, said mechanism including an anchor located on said member to hold said band at one end and an adjustable thumb screw to hold said band at the other end, a finger board resiliently supported from said member between said band and said member, a post resiliently to support said board at one end, and a post extending through said member to support said board at the other end, whereby said board may be shifted from a retracted position away from said band to an operable position close to said band by manipulating said last post.

5. A musical instrument comprising a base member, a lengthy extensible band, an adjustable sound control finger board pivoted on the base member beneath said band, means to support said band from said member and in a taut condition for vibratory sound producing movements, "apiezoelectric crystal in contact with said band near oneend to receive said-movements directlyfrom said band and produce an electromotive force varying therewith, a reproducer to producesound waves varying in accordance with'said electromotive force, switch elements .to render said reproducer inoperative to cut on saidsound waves, and mechanism to support said-elements at one end of-said member for manipulation during the playing of said instrument. I

6. A musical instrument comprising a base member, a lengthly extensible band, means to support said band from said member and-in a taut condition for vibratory sound producing movements, a finger guide and restbar on said base member adjacent said band, a piezoelectric crystal contacting and supporting said band near one end to receive said movements and produce an electromotive force varying therewith, a reproducer to produce sound waves varying in accordance with said electromotive force, control elements to vary the operation of said'reproducer, and mechanism to support said elements at one end of said member for manipulation duringthe playing of said instrument.

7. A musical instrument comprising a base member; a lengthy extensible band; meansto support said band from said member and in a taut condition for vibratory sound producing movements; an adjustable sound control finger board pivoted on the base member beneath said band, a piezoelectric crystal in contact with-and supporting said band near one end to receive said movements and produce an-electromotive force varying therewith; a reproducer to produce sound waves varying in accordance with said electro motive force; control elements to vary'the'intensity of the sound from said reproducer, the relative intensity of the low frequency and high frequency sounds from said reproducer and to render "said .reproducer inoperative; and mechanism to support said elements at one end of said member for manipulation during the playing of said instrument.

8. A musical instrument comprising in combination; a base member; a lengthy extensible band; mechanism to hold said band in a taut condition over said member for vibratory sound producing movements; a piezoelectric crystal disposed to support'said band at one end; a finger board pivoted onthe base member beneath the band; elements resiliently to support one end of said board from said'member; shiftable elements resiliently to support the other end of said board from said member, said last elements being shiftable to'retract said board to a position away from said band or to move said board to a position adjacent to said band; a reproducer to convert the electromotive forces appearing across said crystal to'corresponding sound Waves; control elements operable to vary the intensity of the sound from said reproducer, the relative intensity of the low frequency and high frequency sounds from said reproducer, and to render said reproducer inoperative; and mechanism to support said elements at one end of said member for manipulation in conjunction with said shiftable elements during the playing of said instrument.

ANDREW LOVE NOTARA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,808,103 Fischer June 2, 1931 2,207,341 Dickerson July 9, 1940 2,222,057 Benioff Nov. 19, 1940 2,233,190 Smith Nov. 26, 1940 2,228,881 Le Clair Jan. 14, 1941 

